Reed Smoot (January 10, 1862February 9, 1941) was an American politician, businessman, and
apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church). First elected by the
Utah State Legislature
The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term li ...
to the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
in 1902, he served as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
senator from 1903 to 1933.
From his time in the Senate, Smoot is primarily remembered as the co-sponsor of the 1930
Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act
The Tariff Act of 1930 (codified at ), commonly known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff or Hawley–Smoot Tariff, was a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States. Sponsored by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willi ...
, which increased almost 900 American import duties. Criticized at the time as having "intensified nationalism all over the world" by
Thomas Lamont of
J.P. Morgan & Co.,
Smoot–Hawley is widely regarded as one of the catalysts for the worsening
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
Smoot was a prominent leader of the LDS Church, chosen to serve as an apostle in the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
in 1900. His role in the LDS Church (together with rumors of a secret church policy continuing
polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
and a
secret oath against the United States)
led to a lengthy controversy of four years after he was elected to the Senate in 1903. A Senate committee investigated his eligibility to serve, known as the
Reed Smoot hearings
The Reed Smoot hearings, also called Smoot hearings or the Smoot Case, were a series of Congressional hearings on whether the United States Senate should seat U.S. Senator Reed Smoot, who was elected by the Utah legislature in 1903. Smoot was an ...
, and recommended against him, but the full Senate voted to seat him.
Smoot continued to be reelected to successive terms until he lost his seat in the 1932 elections. Smoot returned to Utah in 1933. Retiring from politics and business, he devoted himself to the church. At the time of his death, he was third in the line of succession to lead the LDS Church.
Early life, family, and religious activity
Smoot was born in 1862 in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state. ...
. He was the son of
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
pioneer from Kentucky and Iowa,
Abraham O. Smoot, who served as mayor of the city from 1856 to 1862. His mother was Anne Kristina Morrison Smoot, also known as Anne Kirstine Mauritzen before her marriage. Anne Kristina Morrison Smoot was Smoot's father's fifth wife of six plural marriages and 27 children, three of whom Abraham O. Smoot adopted.
The family moved to
Provo, Utah
Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU).
Provo lies between the ...
, when his father was called by
Brigham Young
Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...
to head the stake there. Smoot attended the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
and graduated from Brigham Young Academy (now
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
) in Provo in 1879. Following which, Smoot served as a
Mormon missionary
Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...
in England. After returning to Utah, Smoot married Alpha M. Eldredge of Salt Lake City on September 17, 1884. They had six children together.
Thereafter, Smoot became a successful businessman in the Salt Lake City area. In 1895, he became increasingly involved in the hierarchy of the LDS Church, advancing in authority. On April 8, 1900, Smoot was ordained an LDS Church apostle and member of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
United States Senate
After becoming an apostle in 1900, Smoot received the approval of
LDS Church president Joseph F. Smith to run for office in 1902. He had joined the Republican Party.
Smoot was elected by the Utah legislature to the United States Senate (
58th Congress) on January 20, 1903, as a Republican Senator, representing the state.
Smoot was introduced to the United States Senate by Utah's senior U.S. Senator, Republican
Thomas Kearns
Thomas Kearns (April 11, 1862 – October 18, 1918) was an American mining, banking, railroad, and newspaper magnate. He was a US Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905. Unlike the predominantly Mormon constituents of his state, Senator Kearns w ...
, a Catholic who had been elected in 1901 over Smoot. Two years later Smoot ran again and was elected to the Senate.
Controversy over religious affiliation
Smoot's election sparked a bitter four-year battle in the Senate on whether Smoot was eligible and should be allowed to serve. Many Americans were suspicious of the LDS Church because of its earlier polygamous practices. In addition, some senators thought Smoot's position as a Mormon apostle would disqualify him from representing all his constituents. Many were convinced that his association with the church disqualified him from serving in the United States Senate. Only a few years earlier, another prominent Utah Mormon,
B. H. Roberts
Brigham Henry Roberts (March 13, 1857 – September 27, 1933) was a historian, politician, and leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He edited the seven-volume ''History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
, had been elected to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
. He was denied his seat on the basis that he practiced
plural marriage
Polygamy (called plural marriage by Latter-day Saints in the 19th century or the Principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy) was practiced by leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) for more tha ...
(polygamy), which was illegal in Utah as well as all other states of the Union.
The LDS Church had officially renounced future plural marriages in an
1890 Manifesto
The 1890 Manifesto (also known as the Woodruff Manifesto, the Anti-polygamy Manifesto, or simply "the Manifesto") is a statement which officially advised against any future plural marriage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...
, before Utah was admitted as a state. However, the ''
Salt Lake Tribune
''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871."
History
A ...
'' reported that church leaders continued to approve secretly of new, post-Manifesto plural marriages.
[B. Carmon Hardy, ''Solemn Covenant: The Mormon Polygamous Passage'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994) extensively documents Mormon-sanctioned post-Manifesto polygamy.] Because of the controversy, the Senate began an investigation into Smoot's eligibility.
[Kathleen Flake, ''The Politics of American Religious Identity: The Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004).] The
Smoot Hearings
The Reed Smoot hearings, also called Smoot hearings or the Smoot Case, were a series of Congressional hearings on whether the United States Senate should seat U.S. Senator Reed Smoot, who was elected by the Utah legislature in 1903. Smoot was an ...
began on January 16, 1904. The hearings included exhaustive questioning into the continuation of plural marriage within the state of Utah and the LDS Church, and questions on church teachings, doctrines and history. Although Smoot was not a polygamist, the charge by those opposed to his election to the Senate was that he could not swear to uphold the United States Constitution while serving in the highest echelons of an organization that sanctioned law breaking.
![The apostle is going some](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/The_apostle_is_going_some.png)
Some opponents claimed that
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
-attending Latter-day Saints took an "
oath of vengeance
In Mormonism, the oath of vengeance (or law of vengeance) was part of the endowment ritual of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Participants swore an oath to pray for God to avenge the blood of prophets Joseph Smith and ...
" against the United States for past grievances. As a leader of the LDS Church, Smoot was accused of taking this oath, which he denied. Although the majority of the investigative committee recommended that Smoot be removed from office, on February 20, 1907, the two-thirds majority required to expel Smoot failed and he was allowed to keep his seat.
Political career
Smoot was reelected in 1908 and continued to be reelected to successive terms until 1932, serving in the Senate until March 1933. A constitutional amendment mandated the popular election of US Senators after 1913. He was defeated in the 1932 election.
In 1916,
William Kent
William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but ...
was the lead sponsor in the House of Representatives of legislation to establish the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
. Smoot sponsored the similar Senate bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives on July 1, 1916, passed the Senate on August 5, and was signed by
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
on August 25, 1916. The agency was placed within the cabinet Department of Interior.
Smoot was Chairman of the
Senate Finance Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...
from 1923 to 1933, and served on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
He became active in the national Republican Party and served as a delegate to the Republican national convention every four years between 1908 and 1924. He was Chairman of the 1928 Resolutions Committee at the 1928 Republican National Convention and Chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Smoot was a co-sponsor of the
Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act
The Tariff Act of 1930 (codified at ), commonly known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff or Hawley–Smoot Tariff, was a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States. Sponsored by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willi ...
in 1930, which raised U.S. import tariffs on over 20,000 dutiable items to record levels. Many historians believe that it exacerbated the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. U.S. President
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
signed the act into law on June 17, 1930.
Smoot served five terms before being defeated in the 1932 election by
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Elbert D. Thomas
Elbert Duncan Thomas (June 17, 1883February 11, 1953) was a Democratic Party politician from Utah. He represented Utah in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1951. He served as the Chair of the Senate Education Committee.
Biography
Thomas ...
. After his unsuccessful reelection campaign, Smoot moved back to Salt Lake City. He retired from active business and political pursuits to dedicate his remaining years as an apostle for the LDS Church. Smoot died on February 9, 1941, during a visit to
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
. He was buried in
Provo.
See also
*
List of United States senators expelled or censured
The United States Constitution gives the Senate the power to expel any member by a two-thirds vote. This is distinct from the power over impeachment trials and convictions that the Senate has over executive and judicial federal officials: th ...
*
Reed Smoot hearings
The Reed Smoot hearings, also called Smoot hearings or the Smoot Case, were a series of Congressional hearings on whether the United States Senate should seat U.S. Senator Reed Smoot, who was elected by the Utah legislature in 1903. Smoot was an ...
*
Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act
The Tariff Act of 1930 (codified at ), commonly known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff or Hawley–Smoot Tariff, was a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States. Sponsored by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willi ...
*
Reed O. Smoot House
*
Smoot–Rowlett family
The Smoot–Rowlett family is a U.S. political family. It is linked by marriage to the Kimball–Snow–Woolley family.
Family members
Daniel Rowlett
*c.1786 - 2 Dec 1847
*Texas Republic House of Representatives, 1837–38, 1839–40, 1843–4 ...
References
Further reading
* Flake, Kathleen. ''The Politics of American Religious Identity: The Seating of Senator Reed Smoot, Mormon Apostle''. The University of North Carolina Press, 2003
excerpt and text search* Paulos, Michael Harold. ''The Mormon Church on Trial: Transcripts of the Reed Smoot Hearings''. Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2008.
* Heath, Harvard S. ''In the World: The Diaries of Reed Smoot''. Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1997.
* Merrill, Milton R. ''Reed Smoot: Apostle in Politics''. Utah State University Press, 1990.
* Smith, Konden R. "The Reed Smoot Hearings and the Theology of Politics: Perceiving an 'American' Identity," ''Journal of Mormon History,'' 35 (Summer 2009), pp. 118–62.
Archival materials
Reed Smoot collectionsat the
L. Tom Perry Special Collections,
Harold B. Lee Library
The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...
,
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
Correspondence between Senator Reed Smoot and N. V. Jones
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smoot, Reed
1862 births
1941 deaths
American general authorities (LDS Church)
Apostles (LDS Church)
Brigham Young Academy alumni
Harold B. Lee Library-related 19th century articles
Latter Day Saints from Utah
Latter Day Saints from Washington, D.C.
Politicians from Salt Lake City
Republican Party United States senators from Utah
Smoot–Rowlett family
University of Utah alumni
Utah Republicans